Gamification
Coursera
Course Summary
Gamification is the application of game elements and digital game design techniques to non-game problems, such as business and social impact challenges. This course will teach you the mechanisms of gamification, why it has such tremendous potential, and how to use it effectively.
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Course Description
Gamification is the application of digital game design techniques to non-game contexts, such as business, education, and social impact challenges. Video games are the dominant entertainment form of modern times because they powerfully motivate behavior. Game mechanics can be applied outside the immersive environments of games themselves, to create engaging experiences as well as assign rewards and recognition.
Over the past few years, gamification adoption has skyrocketed. Companies use game thinking for employee motivation in human resources, team building, productivity enhancement, training, health and wellness, sustainability, and innovation. Marketers gamify their programs to engage customers. Organizations apply gamification to motivate crowdsourcing participants. Governments, non-profits, and educational institutions are also applying these techniques.
Game thinking means more than dropping in badges and leaderboards to make an activity fun or addicting. It requires a thoughtful understanding of motivational psychology and game design techniques, as well as a sensitivity to limits and dangers. This course teaches learners the foundations to make gamification effective in any context.
Subtitles for all video lectures available in: English, Russian (provided by Digital October), Turkish (Koc University), and Ukrainian (provided by Bionic University)
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Course Syllabus
The course is divided into 12 units. We will cover 2 of them each week:
1. What is Gamification? 2. Games 3. Game Thinking 4. Game Elements 5. Psychology and Motivation (I) 6. Psychology and Motivation (II) 7. Gamification Design Framework 8. Design Choices 9. Enterprise Gamification 10. Social Good and Behavior Change 11. Critiques and Risks 12. Beyond the Basics -
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Recommended Background
- Kevin Werbach & Dan Hunter, For the Win: How Game Thinking Can Revolutionize Your Business (Wharton Digital Press, 2012)
- Kevin Werbach & Dan Hunter, The Gamification Toolkit (Wharton Digital Press, forthcoming 2015)
This course is designed as an introduction to gamification as a business practice. No particular technical knowledge or prior coursework are required.
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Course Format
The class will consist of video lectures, which are between 7 and 12 minutes in length. Many of them contain integrated quiz questions. 2 units of lectures will be posted each week; you can watch them any time after that. There are also standalone multiple-choice homework assignments for most weeks of the course (5-10 questions per week), and three short peer-graded written assignments involving realistic gamification scenarios. The course ends with a multiple-choice final exam.
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Suggested Reading
The course is designed to be self-contained. For those seeking additional background material, the version of the syllabus on the course website will link to suggested resources keyed to the course units. Professor Werbach’s books, For the Win: How Game Thinking Can Revolutionize Your Business and The Gamification Toolkit, which go into greater detail on the topics of the course, is available in ebook and paperback formats worldwide.
